Advice on hatching eggs?

[lavendermarie]

I have 9 chicken eggs in my incubator right now. They were just put in maybe four hours ago. I am seeking advice on how to increase my hatch rate as this incubator isn’t the greatest one out there.

1: I heard that you shouldn’t turn the eggs in the first 24 hours. Is this true?

2: My incubator has a sponge for the humidity. There’s no adjuster and no way to tell what percentage of humidity it’s at. I have to open the lid to put the water soaked sponge in. How do I go about this during lockdown?

I’ve hatched eggs in this incubator before last year. 2 of which were in the incubator the entire time, and the other 2 were under a broody hen half the time and in the incubator the remaining half. But the rest of them seemed to die in their egg pretty far into development. Like on the last day. Is there anything I can do this time around to give the eggs a better chance?

 

[Tonyroo]

Are they your own flock eggs or shipped eggs?

 

[Tonyroo]

1. No turning for 2 days. Third day start turning.
2. Use a ceramic cup that can fit in the incubator, scrunch a paper towel place it in cup, fill the cup halfway. Place in incubator.
3. Get a hygrometer, it measures humidity and temperature. This is the best way to know if your on target and that the incubator is functioning correctly.

 

[lavendermarie]

Are they your own flock eggs or shipped eggs?

They’re my own flock’s!

 

[Tonyroo]

Follow the list. Your hatch rate should be better. But monitoring is key especially if your incubator isn't exact.

 

[NatJ]

1. No turning for 2 days. Third day start turning.

Why not turn them at first?

All the instructions I have ever seen (books, incubator manufacturers, etc) say to turn the eggs from the very beginning.

 

[lavendermarie]

1. No turning for 2 days. Third day start turning.
2. Use a ceramic cup that can fit in the incubator, scrunch a paper towel place it in cup, fill the cup halfway. Place in incubator.
3. Get a hygrometer, it measures humidity and temperature. This is the best way to know if your on target and that the incubator is functioning correctly.

Thank you so much for the tips!